The GAME is over, the lady has sung! Oh, and Carl Edwards won the race! It was an up and down day for the top three chasers, but steady wins the race, and JJ was steady enough to bank his 5th Sprint Cup!!! Denny had a gallant effort, but just not enough. Even Harvick thought he had a chance as JJ slipped back a little to cool his jets. But once Chad told him to turn it on, that was the end.

So now we just look forward to the award banquet, then Speedweeks in Daytona! 😉 All the best for the Holiday season, and see you back here in 2011!

OOOPS, check that. FUEL MILEAGE and ill timed cautions changed the outcome. Denny looked like he was about to break down in tears during post race interviews. Can you believe it? He can’t!! 15 laps to go, and he has to pit after leading the most laps! It’s DRAMA kids! 15 points in it!!!!!

SO, Cousin Carl, not sure of his mileage, passes Denny, and saves enough to make it to the checker! Finally get’s the Back Flip on the finish line.

AND enters the MOSH PIT!

All comes down to Homestead, and maybe Happy Harvick can pull this off?? 😉

Thought it was going to be a usual walk in the park for the leader, and I’d catch a few ZZZs while the BIF spanked the field, but I was way off base! Bet TNT wish they had THIS race for all the DRAMA! Forget the early cautions for start and parks, but right to Martin Truex Jr. Poor guy had the crappiest day he has ever had. The car was junk. If it was me, I would have done a Kyle Busch, and drove it in the wall to put it out of it’s misery! SPEAKING of KB, dude got totally out of control! ESPN did not cover all his incar audio, but I heard a full 5 minute piece on SAT 128, and he was totally out of control in the car. Took JD Gibbs to yell at him, and get him to park the car for two laps after his tantrum! THAT was just the opening act! The main stage was the JEFF vs JEFF dual to the death! Get those dukes up boys! Big Daddy was a raging bull, just about took Burtons head off! NOW, getting wrecked under caution would light your fuse, but never seen Jeff that wild, ‘cept maybe when he went after Kenseth a few years back. SO, two wrecked cars! (Burton got back out 69 laps later, but gained nothing.) The biggest drama, and all the buzz on SAT128, was Chad dumping the 48 crew in favor of the 24 crew, after JG retired. Talk about kicking the boys in the ass in PUBLIC! May be some CRACKS in the dynasty!

By the way, Denny took the race. YEP, there was a race inside the Soap Opera that is the NEW NASCAR! 😉 Phoenix next Sunday! (woohoo, F1 then NASCAR!)

Git ‘er done! Lot’s of lead changes in the race, and long Green flag runs! Lap 69 for the first yellow when Dinger went around, then all the way till lap 134 before the next one, that’s when June Bug got excited and turned Burton. He was a little ticked! 😉

Then guest what!….. TWO RCR cars bring out the next caution at lap 141! AND which two cars take the WHITE FLAG as the caution waves at lap 187?????? 29 and 33! Even with the frontend damage on Happy Harvicks car, he had some pushing power. Just had to wait for NASCAR to check the TAPE to see WHO was in the lead at the moment the CAUTION came out, and it took a while.

That’s where the current double file restart really shakes up the cars, when it’s a restrictor plate track. Now we head to Texas!!!!

If you TALK THE TALK, & WALK THE WALK, then who can squawk? Denny said it was his race, and he backed it up! Now this will make for some fun in the last four races! As long as they can survive DEGA!

A little TESTY in the RCR camp! Guess HAPPY figures he’s DA MAN, and the team mates best get out da way, or else! Crap, it’s a race! Get over yourself mate! But the story has to be Mark Martin! Dude done knocked his car into shape!!! A few more laps, and he may have won!! After the lap 225 wreck put him to the wall, most would have rolled over and called it a day, but not old Mark! And with the spoiler UP in the air, he had a SPEED RACER! Wonder how that passes through post race inspection?? 😉 Strap in next Sunday, it’s Talladega! ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!

Perseverance, theme for the race. If JJ had not persevered, he would have lost the opportunity to get a top 5 finish! After spinning out at lap 33, most would have resigned themselves to an ALSO RAN finish, but not Jimmy & Chad. THAT is cool under pressure!

Amazing how some cars just totally went SOUTH after a tire change. Must be too much stagger in them there tires! Even with measuring diameter and air pressure, there is no way the compound can be perfectly matched.

But it was Jamie Mac that had his day in the spotlight, and he his having a season of his life.

Interesting to see the supposed mature Kyle Busch, just totally disgusted with himself, and his team, after the race. Guess he’s not all the way there yet. He better get under control for next week at Martinsville!!!!

CRIKEY, I stayed awake for most of this race! Watched it a day late, but it was fun to watch! TWO wide, THREE wide, FOUR wide, let’s go SIX wide! Yeah, boys, git ‘er done! That’s what the folks paid for!

Some dramatic engine failures too! Crazy. Just pushing to the limit. But in the end Tony the tiger prevails, and jumps to 5th in points, while Shrub and the Biffle take a free fall. See what HOME GAME at Charlotte does for the Chase next Saturday.

Well, I woke up for the fun again! Lap 52, KB tags Reuti, sends him to the wall. Took till lap 154 for Reuti to catch KB, and pay back was on. WELL, he slipped up the track with a ill handling car! 😉 As far as chasers go, they are moving around pretty good at the top, more moving up than moving down, and those that FALL are falling hard. Hope it stays tight at the top, right into the last race, then it will make the season worth while! If not, and the clinch is with two race to go, it just takes the edge of the race!!

See what Fontana has in store next Sunday. (side note, did anyone catch the INDY CAR race from Homestead? Dario clinched the title, but the stands were almost empty! Only 3 sections of seating used! Can you say FAIL!)

Bad boy again, didn’t even see the first lap! Rusty and Co. put me to sleep!

Guess I didn’t miss anything, just a ride along for 200 laps, with all the fun starting in the last 3rd of the race. Most notably JJ have a totally crappy race, (can you say mulligan!). And poor Tony Tiger running out of juice! How must that feel!!!!!!

Lot’s of twitter activity about WHAT IS WRONG WITH NASCAR. Quite frankly, once FOX goes off the air, I lose interest! Not sure why so many people DIS on Darrel Waltrip, but the man watches the race, and FOLLOWS the race, no teleprompter required. He creates the story, not just repeating the story like Rusty. And if he screws up, he says so! But most often than not, he is on the money.

Not sure why, but Richmond didn’t have the same excitement for me this time around! But even with the GLOVES OFF rules, it getting just too tame! F1 is more exciting! Call me weird, but that’s my take. Some side by side, but no bump and go, just a few mistakes here and there for good viewing, just to take your mind off the start ‘n’ parks. But for US, the Chase points are in effect, so how did you do? Get’s tougher every year to pick a team, almost as bad as picking lottery numbers.